BBC NEWS | UK | Scouts honour for Blue Peter man Scouts honour for Blue Peter man The ex-Blue Peter presenter was declared a "cool" Chief Scout TV action man and former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan has become the leader of the UK's 500,000 scouts. Peter Duncan, 50, also known from his 1980s Duncan Dares TV show and round-the-world adventures, will hold the Chief Scout post for five years. He follows eight others who have held the position since Baden-Powell became the first in 1921. The ex-wolf cub said the post gave him "the chance to contribute to the development of tomorrow's adults". "Scouting is alive and well in 21st century Britain", he added. 'Action man' "I can think of no better organisation to provide a creative and challenging framework for the positive development of young men and women." The Chief Scout has traditionally come from a military or civil service background as well as having experience as a scout or scout leader. Scout Association spokesman Chris Foster said Mr Duncan was "breaking the mould".

We want to prove that the scouts are a trendy, modern organisation Scout Association He told BBC News Online: "Peter Duncan is the first celebrity to head the organisation in a move to modernise and to bring a fresh image. "We want to prove that the scouts are a trendy, modern organisation." BBC correspondent Torin Douglas said: "In the 21st century celebrity age, a familiar face and TV skills are the most important thing." Cub scout Sally Milner, nine, said she had met Mr Duncan and he was "cool". "He really knows how to talk to children", she said. "It's great we have a real action man as our new Chief Scout." Centenary celebrations Duncan, who recently backpacked around China with his family, said he was looking forward to the UK Scout Association hosting EuroJam in 2005 and the World Scout Jamboree in 2007. Each event will bring tens of thousands of scouts from around the world to the UK to celebrate scouting's centenary. Duncan worked on Blue Peter with Simon Groom and Janet Ellis Founding father Lieutenant General Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys in 1908 after returning from the Boer War.

The book was a teenage version of his military training manual Aids to Scouting, and is now said to be fourth in the all-time best-sellers list after the Bible, the Koran and Mao-Tse-Tung's Little Red Book. The following year the Scout Association opened its first offices in London. In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the Army to devote himself to the movement full-time. It now has around 25 million members worldwide, not counting guides, brownies and girl scouts. TV appearances Since Baden-Powell died in Kenya in 1941, seven other Chief Scouts have reigned. They were Lord Somers, Lord Rowallan, Lord Maclean, Sir William Gladstone, Major-General Michael Walsh, Garth Morrison and George Purdy. Duncan, who is married with four children, left school at 15 to become a professional actor. After a string of appearances in television dramas and series he was first offered the role of Blue Peter presenter in 1978. He accepted second time around in 1980. He was soon known for exploits such as cleaning the face of Big Ben and running the first London Marathon in just over three hours.

After leaving Blue Peter in 1984 he filmed his own BBC children's series Duncan Dares, then returned to Blue Peter for a second stint before finally leaving in 1986 to return to acting. Peter Duncan on Blue Peter, Flash Gordon, dubious 'porn' and Scouting (interview) By Paul Kirkley Friday 30 October 2015 at 1:40PM Peter Duncan had an early – and very literal – introduction to a glittering showbiz career. His parents were both performers who staged old time music hall shows on Brighton’s West Pier and pantomimes in Tunbridge Wells, and Duncan’s earliest memory is of lying in his cot by the side of the stage, gazing up at the lights. “It could be a false memory, I suppose, but I’m convinced it’s real,” says the Blue Peter legend. “I remember generally being surrounded as a child by lots of glitter and hairspray – all the primary colours and the sparkle of growing up in the theatre.

A glittering start, you could say.” With pleasing symmetry, Duncan is talking to RadioTimes.com in the street outside the theatre where he is about to go on stage as Wilbur Turnblad in a UK tour of Hairspray. But the showbiz life was far from a given: for a kid who’d spent so much time in the wings, Duncan was in no hurry to get centre stage. He never appeared in any of his parents’ shows, and only discovered a passion for performing at school. “It was really down to a couple of good English teachers,” he says. “When I went to a secondary modern school, for a rather poor education, I ended up doing the school play, playing Truffaldino in Servant of Two Masters, and rather enjoyed it.” At 15, Duncan left school and got a job playing Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island at the Mermaid Theatre in London, before studying at the Italia Conti stage school. Or “sort of studying”, anyway. “I went as a student for a couple of years,” he explains, “but I worked so much I didn’t really go that often.

I only went when I didn’t have any work to do.” That work was at the National Theatre, under Laurence Olivier, where he played various juvenile roles alongside such heavyweights as Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi and Maggie Smith. “I knew they were obviously quite good at what they did but, at 16 or 17, I didn’t really register that they were important,” he says now. “They were generally friendly to a young lad. Olivier was the same, whenever you saw him.” It wasn’t always the most nurturing environment, though. “I became the whipping boy of certain directors,” he recalls. “I wouldn’t call it bullying, but there was a lot of stuff that wouldn’t be allowed now. Someone like John Dexter would shout, ‘Duncan, you’re absolutely f***ing useless – you can’t even f***ing whistle!’ I didn’t really mind. It set you up for a tough industry.” Throughout the 70s, Duncan juggled stage work with television roles in the likes of Play For Today, The Tomorrow People and Space 1999.

On film, he played one of David Essex’s band in Stardust and, in 1980, made a brief but memorable appearance in Flash Gordon, dramatically flunking a test of manhood on the planet Arborea, and being poisoned by a tree monster then run through with Timothy Dalton’s sword for his troubles. “When you make something like that, you never think it will still be around and being talked about in 2015,” he muses. Probably the reason it made such an impression, I venture, is because, as kids, we only knew him from Blue Peter (which he joined as a presenter the same year) – so seeing him on the big screen in a Hollywood sci-fi spectacular was as thrillingly incongruous as Johnny Ball turning up on the Death Star. “That may be it. And that still goes on, even now. I’ll get reviews saying ‘Peter Duncan sings and dances and acts very well’, as if it’s a surprise.

They’re not exactly saying, ‘Where the f*** have you been?’” he laughs, “but you rather hope they might have read a biog beforehand or something.” Duncan – who was dating Lesley Manville during this period – had actually turned down Blue Peter a couple of years earlier. “I suppose I bottled out,” he admits. “I had a reasonably good career as an actor, and I thought it would change stuff.” But when presenter Christopher Wenner didn’t work out, Biddy Baxter – BP’s legendarily fierce editor – approached him again, and he decided he’d “have a go – see what evolved from it”. Is it true, incidentally, that the BP audition involves interviewing someone while on a trampoline? “That’s generally it, yes. It’s a ritual they’ve always gone through. They want to see if you can talk and bounce at the same time. I think it’s probably so they can look at your body. Actually, that sounds a bit dodgy. So they can check your physicality. Especially if you’re female. Maybe.” The new presenter was the subject of a minor tabloid kerfuffle when it was reported he had appeared nude in a ‘porn film’.

‘It was in the Daily Mail, surprisingly,” he says. “A few years earlier I’d made a really rather good psychological thriller about… I suppose you’d call it rendition now. It was about the conflict in Cyprus. I’d be very surprised if it counts as pornographic. I would show it to a scout troop, really. But of course the Mail couldn’t wait for any excuse to bash the BBC, even in those days.” One of Duncan’s Blue Peter briefs was to replace John Noakes as the show’s resident action man. Over the next four years, he flew on a trapeze, put himself through the Royal Marines Endurance Course, ran the first London marathon, went helicopter-dunking, speed-skating and, perhaps most memorably, cleaned the face of Big Ben (okay, St Stephen’s Tower – don’t write in) without the aid of a safety harness. Was he ever scared? “A bit,” he admits. “But I’ve always been a physical type.

Even as a child I used to climb trees and do things I probably shouldn’t have done, as all kids do.” After leaving Blue Peter in 1984, he cranked up the daredevil stunts for supercharged spin-off show Duncan Dares. (“I raced a truck against Bjorn from Abba,” he says, casually, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.) But the following year he was asked to return to BP after his replacement, the late Michael Sundin, failed to make the grade. During this second stint, viewers followed Duncan’s journey into fatherhood, with his first daughter, Lucy, stealing a march on even her dad’s showbiz start by appearing on the programme at just one day old. Working without an autocue, Duncan was famous for wandering off-piste (“paraphrasing was my virtue,” he admits of his sometimes strained relationship with the script). But despite (or possibly because of) this, he remains one of Blue Peter’s most well-loved presenters – as evinced by his induction as RadioTimes.com’s inaugural TV Hero. “I do sense an audience warmth when I come on stage, and generally people are very nice to me,” he says.

“And I’m sure that comes from Blue Peter and the other TV show’s I’ve done. It’s a nice feeling.” When he left Blue Peter (again), Duncan returned to the stage, with a new emphasis on musical theatre. He starred in Barnum and Me and My Girl, and earned an Olivier nomination for The Card. He also wrote and produced The Oxford Playhouse’s pantomime for eight years – “until someone new came along and got rid of me,” he notes, cheerily. So, did Blue Peter, as he had once feared, “change stuff”? “It’s a bit hard to tell,” he says. “I know I wouldn’t do a job if I thought someone was booking me just because I’ve been on the telly. But I can’t really say what I’d be doing if I hadn’t done Blue Peter.” In the early Noughties, Duncan and his wife Annie took their four children – Lucy, Katie, Georgia and Arthur – on three backpacking trips around the world for a series of well-received travel documentaries.

It was these, along with a dash of residual Blue Peter goodwill, that Duncan credits with the somewhat out-of-left-field offer for him to become Britain’s Chief Scout, a role he held for five years from 2004. “What they really wanted was someone to front the organisation,” he explains. “It became more of a figurehead, media job. And that’s done it the world of good because, while certain generations still make fun of it, scouting is now seen as quite a cool thing to do. Scouts hold their heads high.” Duncan’s success in the role led to him being awarded the highest honour the United Kingdom can bestow. No, not a knighthood – any fool can get one of those – but a Gold Blue Peter Badge. It’s also a measure of the prestige the position now carries that, in 2009, Bear Grylls agreed to serve as his successor. Actually, if you think about it… TV daredevil-turned-Chief Scout: Bear Grylls is basically the new Peter Duncan, isn’t he? Might we even go so far as to say the poor man’s Peter Duncan? “I think so,” laughs Duncan. “With millions of pounds in his bank account, probably.

No, I like Bear. I think he’s great – he does an enormous amount of good work, and it’s a great association for the Scouts.” Today, alongside regular stage work – before Hairspray, he toured in the stage adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong, and recently played Macduff in Macbeth at Regent’s Park Theatre – Duncan still occasionally proves his action man chops on TV shows like The Games and Tumble. He also dedicates a lot of time to his wife’s social enterprise, Neighbourhood Wives – a bid to create a ‘21st century version of Call the Midwife’, offering continuity of care to women throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond. He’s still in touch with his old Blue Peter gang – Sarah Greene, Simon Groom and Janet Ellis. In fact he spent this morning with Ellis, he says, filming a TV programme about Abba. It’s not known if truck racing was involved. He looks back fondly on the 80s as “a rather liberal decade” in comparison to the somewhat “repressive” age we’re living through now.

He admits there are still creative itches he needs to scratch but, on the whole, Duncan seems like a man who’s comfortable in his own skin: at 61, he still exudes the boyish charm that, to a generation of British kids, made him feel less like a presenter than a friend. And that speaks to a truth about Blue Peter that is often misrepresented. While the programme is iconic, there seems to persist an idea among people of a certain age that it was only for middle class children, and was actually a bit square and dull; people trying to claim, basically, that they were too cool to watch it. But I’m from a working class family from Leeds, I tell Duncan, and my sister and I loved it. Does he think the middle class label is unfair? “You’ve sussed it, really,” he says. “It’s only the chattering classes who say that, as it always is. Guardian readers will always say it’s middle class, that it doesn’t relate to working class kids, whatever all that bollocks is.

“In fact it was the opposite: Blue Peter was founded on accessibility – the idea that if you didn’t have your own garden, for example, we’d show you how to grow things in pots and on windowsills. It tried to take people out of their environment. Partly to inspire them, really. I mean, what did they expect us to do, film it in a sweatshop?” Well, quite. That said, does he think the kids ever got a bit fidgety when they had to sit through an educational item on, say, Cornish tin mining, before getting to the stunts and pop stars and stuff? “I daresay there were a few boring items I was involved with,” he smiles. “But I was just the presenter. One did one’s best to liven them up.” And few did it better. For that – and so much more – the nation salutes you, Peter Duncan: actor, presenter, daredevil, boy scout, TV Hero. Hairspray is touring until May.

For dates, see hairsprayuktour.com TV survivalist Bear Grylls named as new chief scout | UK news | The Guardian Close This article is 7 years old Scouts can earn activity badges for skills from skateboarding to global conservation, but the new chief scout could herald the prospect of members tackling some slightly trickier future pursuits – such as eating snakes and climbing Mount Everest. Bear Grylls, 34, the former SAS man and survivalist who, as television viewers will know, long ago earned his stripes for both the above, said he would be encouraging more adults to volunteer so that 33,000 youngsters on waiting lists could join scout groups. Grylls will become the youngest chief scout in the organisation's 102-year history later this year when he replaces the former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan, and he spoke warmly of his boyhood memories of scouting. "I got a sense of identity and a sense of belonging from scouts. My love of the outdoors started with scouting.

It was a real confidence boost for me and opened a lot of doors." An author and public speaker whose television shows have included Man vs Wild, at 23 he became the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest, crossed the Atlantic Arctic Ocean in an open inflatable boat, and served three years in the SAS. Grylls said that he hoped to increase the 90,000 adult volunteers offering more than 200 activities and to dispel the image of scouts simply singing around campfires in old-fashioned uniforms. His appointment got a thumbs up from Scout Elliott Tugwell, 13, from east London, who said: "People will not think scouts are as geeky as they did. Some might think he's crazy, but it shows he is willing to do exciting things like we do." Founded in 1907 by the Boer War veteran Robert Baden-Powell, whose Scouting For Boys is the fourth biggest selling book in the world after the Bible, the Koran and Mao's Little Red Book, the scouting movement currently numbers around 400,000 members.

Blue Peter | 3rd Sevenoaks Scouts Blue Peter 1st February 2007 The Troop have been very lucky and were invited to go to Youlbury campsite and join other Cubs, Scouts and Explorers from around the Country to help with the filming of a program for Blue Peter. The Scouts met with Andy one of the Blue Peter presenters and also with Peter Duncan and Ex Blue Peter presenter and now Chief Scout. The Scouts were divided into Patrols and were able to take part in lots of activities that Youlbury have to offer. The activities included zip wire , high ropes , archery , shooting, crate stacking ,abseiling pedal carts and more. The film crew were about filming one of the patrols and Scouting magazine were also about taking photos of the Scouts taking part in the activities despite the cold and the snow on the ground. We hope that some of the Scouts will appear in publications and Scouting material in the future. And yes we did sleep out in the snow well most of us did. A few had to be forced to sleep indoors as there was not enough tents for them all.... shame. Andy's tent The campsite at 7 in the morning.

We also made it on to the scouts.org website Our group at the end of the day on Saturday with Andy and the Chief Scout. And then it was to the Studio on 20th Feb to be involved in the live show at 17:00. The day started with a commute to London by train and then tube a new experience for some during rush hour. We arrived and met up with the Cubs , Scouts and Explorers from the other groups and were shown into an empty studio ( 3) which was to be our base for the day. A few minutes to catch our thoughts and have lunch and then it was outside to the Blue Peter garden for rehearsals for about an hour . Back into Studio 3 change of shoes and then into the Blue Peter Studio for a briefing of what we had to do in there. Then a quick drinks break and back out to do a timed run through in the blue peter garden back to change shoes and into the studio . All went well and a quick chat from the Guinness book of records officials to confirm that this was a record attempt and had to be done properly to gain the record. Then change of shoes back out to the garden ready for the real thing.

The Scouts cheered on the tent pitchers and then a quick brisk walk ( about 10 minutes ) back to studio 3 change of shoes and a quite brisk walk to studio 1 silence behind the cameras and then as the program ran a video insert all made their way to the marks and then ready for the record attempt would they make it . The 30 seconds started and the attempt began the horn sounded the end and then another video insert would this be a world record you could feel the tension then back live to the studio and ........yes confirmed that this was a new world record. Then the Chief Scout was presented with a gold Blue peter badge and the show finished. Back to studio 3 and and thank you from the chief Scout and then it was all over just the rush hour commute back. We arrived back and from what I have heard from parents there were a lot of late nights as the Scouts were still as high as kites until late. A fantastic opportunity and everyone had a brilliant time. Well done to all that attended. Look out in future Scouting publications for some of the Scouts that had photos taken at Youlbury. Sophie has already made her debut! Check out the Bradbourne Gallery for some photos of the camp and the studio days.

We hope to have some more up at the weekend and hopefully also some video . Also check out the report on the district website . under news section. PETER DUNCAN - YouTube PETER DUNCAN Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jul 16, 2012 Peter Duncan, Blue Peter presenter and former UK Chief Scout speaks about his own personal experience engaging children in learning about the world. Category Blue Peter star is new Chief Scout - Chronicle Live News Blue Peter star is new Chief Scout A former Blue Peter presenter took on a challenge worthy of his 1980s glory days on the show today as he became the United Kingdom's ninth Chief Scout since the tradition began. Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email A former Blue Peter presenter took on a challenge worthy of his 1980s glory days on the show today as he became the United Kingdom's ninth Chief Scout since the tradition began. Peter Duncan, now 50, who also found fame from his Duncan Dares show and his round-the-world adventures, accepted the invitation to lead around half a million Scouts for five years. The TV action man follows in the footsteps of only eight others who have held the role of Chief Scout since Baden-Powell was declared the first in 1921. Former Cub Scout Duncan said he was delighted to be part of the movement once more, explaining: "Scouting is alive and well in 21-century Britain. I can think of no better organisation to provide a creative and challenging framework for the positive development of young men and women. Getting involved in scouting as an adult is about having fun and adventure." Like us on Facebook Most Read Most Recent Most Read Most Recent News and views News and Views Search News and Views Adventure camp to host Chief Scout handover In May The Scout Association announced that adventurer Bear Grylls would be taking over from former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan as Chief Scout of the UK.

Bear Grylls will formally take over the role on Saturday 11 July at Gilwell 24, the national event for Explorer Scouts. Gilwell 24 is an event full of the kind of fun, outdoor activities enjoyed regularly by Scouts across the UK. Explorer Scouts, aged 14 to 18, will enjoy 24 hours of non-stop adventure including climbing, raft racing, orienteering, quadbiking and much more. Peter will formally hand over the role of Chief Scout to Bear in a brief ceremony in front of up to 2,000 young people and adult volunteers. Who knows, maybe the new Chief Scout will get involved in some of the activities at the event? Bear is well known for his adventurous exploits through presenting TV shows such as Born Survivor. There are still a few remaining spaces at the event for Explorer Units interested in attending. Please note that bookings are for Explorer Units attending the weekend, not for day-visitors hoping to attend the ceremony only. Visit the Gilwell 24 website for more information on the event and booking. Who is Bear Grylls? Bear Grylls first got involved in Scouting aged eight as a Cub Scout.

Bear attributes this time as part of the inspiration behind his adult adventures: ‘So much of who we are as an adult is formed when we are kids,’ said Bear. ‘What Scouting says to people is: “it’s okay to go for it in life”. ‘Every child has a right to have an adventure. Life is about grabbing opportunities. The prizes don’t always go to the biggest, the best and the strongest – they go to those who persevere. These are simple life lessons that Scouting teaches people.’ The Chief Scout provides inspiration for the 100,000 adult volunteers involved in Scouting across the UK. The UK leadership team Working in partnership with Bear will be Scouting volunteer Wayne Bulpitt , who takes on the new role of UK Chief Commissioner. Wayne will focus on providing leadership to all volunteers within Scouting. Like Bear, Wayne’s Scouting began when he joined as a Cub Scout. Providing adventure to the UK’s young people Bear and Wayne join 100,000 Scout volunteers who give up their time to provide adventurous activities to 400,000 6-25 year olds.

Scouting is more popular than ever , with adult volunteering increasing at the fastest rate for 23 years and just as many girls as boys now joining. Despite this, demand still outstrips supply and waiting lists remain at an all-time high due to the need for more adult volunteers. By volunteering for Scouting you not only benefit from supporting young people, you also gain from developing yourself. There are lots of flexible volunteering opportunities. Tumble star Peter Duncan's TV adventures: Watch former Blue Peter presenter's most memorable moments - Mirror Online TV Tumble star Peter Duncan's TV adventures: Watch former Blue Peter presenter's most memorable moments You would never struggle for anything to talk about with Peter - he has plenty of accomplishments under his belt Share Fresh-faced and ready (Photo: Rex) Share Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Tumble star Peter Duncan has been gracing television for decades. The 60-year-old is most known for his stint as a Blue Peter presenter in the 1980s and his adventurous Duncan Dares show that followed - but he started out his career as an actor.

Peter's early career was as a stage performer before appearing on television shows before his big movie break came in the 1980 sci-fi cheesefest Flash Gordon. But let's not forget that infamous appearance in the soft-porn film The Lifetaker that came before. Here are some of his best moments from his jam-packed career. Flash Gordon Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now A very fresh-faced Peter has a cameo in the 1980 film version. He is seen on planet Mongo wearing a fetching green costume but is unfortunately killed by a very fake looking plant. The Lifetaker Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now "Revenge becomes a deadly obsession" in this flick from 1975. Peter plays a young lover of neglected wife framed for her murder. Spoiler alert - looks like he ends up dead in this one too. Kate McWilliam and Peter Duncan on BBC'S Tumble (Photo: BBC) Duncan Dares Sinking feeling (Photo: BBC) After his stint on Blue Peter, the adventurer took part in a spin off series known as Duncan Dares.

He did crazy things like wear a beard of bees, become a sumo wrestler, walk over hot coals, truck racing and crashing a hand glider. Perhaps most memorably he attempted to cross the Irish Sea in a VW Beetle. It did not go well. Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now The Chief Scout filmed a documentary with Scouts as he climbed Mount Everest and - spoiler alert - he managed to reach the top. Misses out on the Total Wipeout trophy Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now At the time of him taking part in Celebrity Total Wipeout he was 57 and got all the way to the final. Unfortunately for the former presenter he was beaten to the top spot by 20 years his junior Marcus Patric (Ben from Hollyoaks, remember him?) by just ONE SECOND. Like this? Did you know we have a dedicated TV and Film page on Facebook?

Video Loading BBC NEWS | UK | Bear Grylls appointed Chief Scout Bear Grylls appointed Chief Scout Advertisement Young cub Vs old cub - how things have changed The Wiltshire adventurer and TV personality Bear Grylls has been named as the UK's latest Chief Scout. At 34 he will be the youngest person to hold the position. Mr Grylls says he aims to inspire more adults to volunteer as leaders, so the 33,000 young people currently on waiting lists can join Scout groups. He was the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest, aged 23, and has presented television programmes such as Born Survivor and Escape to the Legion. Mr Grylls from Ramsbury, near Marlborough, was appointed by The Council of the Scout Movement at a special meeting in London and will be expected to promote the policies and benefits of Scouting. He will be invested at a handover ceremony with outgoing Chief Scout Peter Duncan later in the year. "I feel hugely honoured to be asked to take up this role as Chief Scout - it really is a dream come true," he said.

"I have always loved helping young people live their dreams and to taste real adventure as well as getting caked in mud!" Community His appointment comes at a time when waiting lists to join Scout groups across the UK remain at an all-time high. "I hope I can use this post to encourage masses of adults in the UK to volunteer as leaders," he said. "The young people in this country need them like never before, and we have more people wanting to join than there are places available. "But by volunteering, adults can actively make a difference to young people's lives in their community, and there is no better way to be part of an adventure and have loads of fun, than with the Scouts." Bear Grylls was himself both a Cub and a Scout Safa Cheema, a 14-year-old Explorer Scout from Bristol, said: "All of us are really excited about Bear becoming Chief Scout. "He's really inspirational and I think he's going to be a great chief." The outgoing Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, said he felt he had learned a lot during his time in the job.

The former Blue Peter presenter said: "I have particularly connected to the grass roots and have enjoyed seeing the adventurous and environmental awareness aspects of Scouting increase during my time as leader. "I have learnt so much being part of a large organisation, honing the skills of presentation, thinking on my feet and discovering how to communicate an inspirational message for young people." Bookmark with: BBC - Press Office - Network TV Programme Information Week 42 Blue Peter Feature Programme copy (Blue Peter At 50) The Beginning 1. Blue Peter first aired on 16 October 1958 and transmitted for 15 minutes. 2. The first presenters were Christopher Trace and Leila Williams. Christopher Trace was the stand-in for Charlton Heston in blockbuster Ben-Hur and Leila Williams had been crowned Miss Great Britain the previous year. 3. Blue Peter was created by John Hunter Blair. Throughout the programme's 50-year history, there have been just six editors: Biddy Baxter, Lewis Bronze, Oliver Macfarlane, Steve Hocking, Richard Marson and the current editor Tim Levell. 4. The 50th anniversary edition of the show on 16 October will be programme number 4,406.

Ships and Songs 5. Blue Peter is named after the blue and white flag hoisted when a ship is ready to set sail from port. The reasoning for the choice is that the programme is intended to be a voyage of adventure and discovery for the viewers, constantly covering new topics. 6. The ship's symbol, the Blue Peter Galleon, was designed by much-loved TV artist Tony Hart, who received just £100 for his work – which is worth an estimated £1,537 in today's money. Had he been paid royalties they would have made him a millionaire. 7. The theme tune is called Barnacle Bill. There have been nine versions of the theme tune, and the latest arrangement was introduced for this year's series. The Faces 8. There have been 34 Blue Peter presenters, including this year's new recruits, Helen Skelton and Joel Defries. 9. The longest-serving presenter was John Noakes, who presented the series for 12 and a half years and was 45 when he left. On one famous occasion, John was asked to drop his trousers for the show to show the bruises he had sustained during a bobsleigh film.

According to his recollection, he realised that he was wearing his wife's underwear which he had put on by accident in the dark! On 17 May 1976, John Noakes collapsed in the studio due to exhaustion and Lesley Judd had to take over. 10. John Noakes's famous catchphrase was "Get Down Shep". In 1978, pop group The Barron Knights released a single of the same name which reached No. 44 in the charts. 11. Peter Duncan is the only presenter to do two stints on the show. He became a gold badge holder after he was made Chief Scout in Feb 2007. 12. Yvette Fielding was the youngest-ever presenter. She was 18 when she joined the series. 13. Sarah Greene met her husband, former TV presenter Mike Smith, through Blue Peter whilst being filmed learning to dive on the Mary Rose wreck. 14. The shortest-serving listed presenter was Anita West, who lasted for just four months before returning to her acting career. 15.

The following stars applied to be become presenters but didn't make it: Kevin Whately, Sally James, Howard Stableford, Gail Porter, Jake Humphrey, Todd Carty and Sidney Sloane. 16. The famous Blue Peter badge was launched on 17 June 1963. 17. There are six types of badges – Blue, Green, Silver, Gold, Purple and Orange. Blue can be won by viewers sending in an interesting letter, poem, picture or story, or by appearing on the programme. Silver is for viewers who already have a blue but have to do something different to win one. Green is the environmental award, for viewers who make contributions on "green" subjects. Orange is given to viewers who have been either a winner or runner-up in a Blue Peter competition. The Gold badge is Blue Peter's highest award and is only given to people who have shown outstanding bravery and courage, or have represented their country in an international event. Introduced in 2006, the Purple badge is awarded to "Team Player" children who take an active role in the show, either by reviewing it, suggesting ideas for items or helping with audience research. 18.

Famous Gold badge winners include Her Majesty The Queen, who received one in 2001, David Beckham, JK Rowling, Torvill and Dean and Bonnie the Blue Peter dog, who was given one on her retirement in 1991. It has also become tradition to present a leaving presenter with a gold badge on their final show. 19. In 45 years of the badge scheme it is estimated that the programme has awarded half a million badges. 20. Every guest who comes on the show gets a badge. Celebrities with badges include: Madonna, Tony Blair, Mr Bean, Morph, Ewan McGregor, Dawn French, David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Gordon Brown, Uri Geller (who did his first fork-bending on Blue Peter), David Cassidy, ABBA, Elton John, Carrie Fisher and Pele. Bryony Stokes, 2008 Olympic medallist, wore her Blue Peter badge as she windsurfed to her Bronze medal victory. 21. A Blue Peter badge and certificate will get children of 15 years and under free admission into 200 venues up and down the country. Blue Peter and the Doctor 22.

Peter Purves was a Doctor Who assistant before he joined the children's series. 23. Sophie Aldred's Dr Who character, Ace, wore Blue Peter badges which were Sophie's own. 24. A competition to design a Blue Peter monster in 2005 generated 43,920 entries. The winning monster was the Abzorbaloff, which appeared in the story Love & Monsters. Blue Peter pets 25. Blue Peter's pets are almost as well-known as its presenters. There have been eight dogs, five tortoises, nine cats and two parrots. 26. George the tortoise is the longest-serving pet. He made his first appearance in 1982. When he died in 2004 he was around 81 years old. He is the only pet buried in the Blue Peter garden. He once became amorous with a pair of Sarah Greene's shoes, thinking they were another tortoise… 27. Another tortoise, originally named Fred, had to be renamed Freda when it was discovered he was, in fact, a she. The Trips 28.

From Morocco to Mexico and Japan to Jamaica, there have been 43 Blue Peter summer expeditions covering every continent on the globe. 29. During a Blue Peter expedition to Egypt, presenter Tina Heath was caught short with a dodgy tummy and had to use her script as toilet paper! Here's One I Made Earlier 30. In 1962, a housewife named Margaret Parnell sent in the idea for the first "make" and spent the best part of the next 40 years creating them, designing over 700. 31. Early makes included the classic Christmas Advent crown, doll's hammocks and bird-seed cakes. Recent makes include a Tardis pencil case. 32. The most popular make was Tracy Island, which received 100,000 requests for the Factsheet in 1993. Anthea Turner still has the Tracy Island she made on the show. Helping Out 33. The Blue Peter Appeals started in 1962 when viewers were asked to collect postage stamps to raise money for homes for the homeless. 34.

It's estimated that, across the 46 appeals, children have raised the equivalent of over £100m in today's money. The 14 Bring & Buy Sales have raised the equivalent of an estimated £57m. Other items collected by the appeal include over 948,025,000 stamps, 19m aluminium cans, 800 tons of wool and over 1,450,000 pairs of shoes, including David Beckham's boots. 35. Between 1962 and 2007 the appeals have raised money to buy, amongst others, the following: two guide dogs, 25 life boats, eight flats for homeless people, 32 ponies , 57 lorries, three caravans, two day centres, six bungalows, 12 houses in Romania, 8,350 lavatories and three schools. 36. The Blue Peter lifeboats can still be found at seven lifeboat stations around the country. They've been launched over 4,600 times and have saved, up to 20 March 2008, 1058 lives.

Blue Peter and Green Fingers 37. The Blue Peter Garden was launched on 21 March 1974. Percy Thrower was the first gardener and was awarded his gold badge in 1988. The second gardener was Chris Crowder, followed by Clare Bradley and, currently, Chris Collins. 38. The Blue Peter Garden was vandalised three times – in 1978, 1980 and 1983 – before security cameras were eventually fitted. 39. TV executive Edward Barnes "nicked" the idea for the garden from rival series Magpie. Blue Peter babies 40. In 1968 it was decided that Blue Peter would feature a baby on the programme, to show viewers what it was like to have a little brother or sister. On 30 September of that year, baby Daniel made his first appearance at just 14 weeks old and made regular appearances over the next two years. 41. Presenters who had babies during the time they worked on the programme were Tina Heath, who had Jemma, and Liz Barker who had Dexter.

In 1987, presenter Janet Ellis was the focus of national scrutiny when she had baby Jack out of wedlock. Incontinent Elephants and Beautiful Knockers 42. Peter Purves attributes the blame for Lulu the incontinent elephant to editor Biddy Baxter, who allegedly asked Lulu's keeper to do without the stick he used to keep her under control. The ensuing chaos saw Lulu pee, poo and generally misbehave around the studio, dragging her gamekeeper through the mess. 43. Other memorable moments include Simon Groom's innuendo-laden: "What a beautiful pair of knockers", when commenting on a replacement for Durham Cathedral's historic door knocker; Mark Curry knocking the head off a LEGO model; and Diane-Louise Jordan falling flat on her face whilst covering John Leslie's run in the London Marathon. The Competitions 44. A competition to design a frock for presenter Caron Keating solicited responses from 69,928 debut dressmakers.

In 1981 a competition to design a Christmas stamp generated 74,000 responses, and a contest to design a character for Aardman Animations in 2006 attracted 47,268 budding Nick Parks. Miscellaneous 45. Children who appeared on the show and have gone on to be famous include: Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton and popstar James Blunt (then James Blount). Konnie Huq also appeared in 1989 with the National Youth Theatre before she went on to become the programme's longest-serving presenter. Richard Deverell, the current Controller of BBC Children's, appeared on the show in 1976 as part of a troupe of knitting scouts. 46. Blue Peter has many Royal friends. A young Prince Edward visited Blue Peter in 1969 and, in 1970, Valerie Singleton and HRH Princess Anne filmed their Royal Safari in Kenya. Her Majesty The Queen visited the studio in 2001 and was given a gold badge.

Blue Peter's current presenters and a specially selected number of former presenters and production staff have been invited to The Palace to meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the 50th anniversary. 47. There have been four Blue Peter time capsules. The first was buried at BBC Television Centre in 1971 and the second in 1984, when the first box had to be moved because of development at Television Centre. Another was buried in 2000, which will be opened in 2029. There is also one hidden under the Millennium Dome/02 Centre which will be opened in 2050. 48. Blue Peter is the longest-running children's TV series in the world and the programme and its presenters have earned themselves countless records. John Noakes's Long Fall gave him a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest delayed drop by a civilian; Janet Ellis jumped 20,000 feet – a European record for a civilian woman; and Matt Baker's tandem hang-gliding also made the record books. 49. Blue Peter has won 40 awards, including two Baftas, a National Television Award and an RTS Award. 50.

If you sat down and watched every episode of Blue Peter ever made, back to back, it would take around two and a half months – about the same amount of time needed to drive four times round the world.

Question: Which Blue Peter presenter was a Chief Scout?
Answer: Peter Duncan